Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Jiang Fan walked into the Times Media building. The receptionist, following Su Yuyan's instructions, led Jiang Fan directly to her office.

Su Yuyan was sitting behind her desk looking at reports.

She wore a black fitted dress today, with her hair pulled back into a bun, revealing the entire nape of her neck.

Hearing the noise, she looked up.

"They're here."

Jiang Fan walked over, pulled out the chair opposite him, sat down, placed the USB drive on the table, and pushed it over.

"The demos and lyrics for both songs are included."

Su Yuyan plugged the USB drive into the computer, opened the folder, and opened the lyrics document first.

The first song is titled "Itch".

Her gaze swept down from the first line.

She is like a gentle ray of setting sun, how I long for someone to appreciate her...

Feeling pretty good, Su Yuyan continued watching. When she saw the chorus, her finger stopped on the touchpad.

"Come on, let's have some fun, we have plenty of time..." Su Yuyan said aloud.

These lyrics, paired with that languid melody, are blatantly seductive when sung on stage.

She looked up at Jiang Fan.

"What do you think about all day long?"

"I miss you." Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair.

Su Yuyan rolled her eyes at him.

"You want me to sing this in front of tens of thousands of people at a concert?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are these proper lyrics?"

The lyrics and music of this song are a perfect match for Su Yuyan's voice, maximizing her strengths, and Jiang Fan is well aware of this.

"You call me much more explicit in private than this."

Su Yuyan ignored this and opened another document instead.

Puppet Show.

She read the first part of the verse very quickly; the lyrics were standard and conventional, written in a classical Chinese style.

When she reached the chorus, she saw the two words written in the label: "Xiangqiang" (a type of Peking Opera).

Su Yuyan put down the sheet music.

"I've never studied opera. I'm not sure I can sing this part."

"It's okay, I'll teach you."

Su Yuyan looked at him suspiciously. "You can teach this?"

"Don't be so skeptical," Jiang Fan said, standing up. "Let's go to the recording studio. I'll give you a demonstration first."

Su Yuyan led him into the recording studio.

Jiang Fan stood in front of the microphone, without headphones, and sang a cappella.

"With delicate fingers, she touches the mortal world like flowing water; on the three-foot-high red stage, all things are sung and played."

The moment the sound came out, Su Yuyan's hand froze in mid-air.

The authentic Peking Opera singing style is melodious and clear; without years of vocal training, one simply cannot produce this quality.

Su Yuyan stared at Jiang Fan for five seconds.

Just how much is this man still hiding? Now he can even sing opera tunes off the cuff.

This was exactly the effect Jiang Fan wanted. Only by impressing her with his expertise could the subsequent training proceed smoothly.

"What are you looking at? It's your turn." Jiang Fan patted her shoulder.

Su Yuyan snapped out of her thoughts and stood in front of the microphone.

She tried it once according to her own understanding.

"With delicate fingers, she touches the fleeting world—"

The voice still follows the pop singing style, forcing high notes with the throat, resulting in a somewhat awkward and unnatural sound.

Su Yuyan herself frowned.

Jiang Fan walked behind her and placed his hands on her waist.

Su Yuyan's body stiffened.

What are you doing?

"I'll teach you how to find the right vocal placement." Jiang Fan's palm touched her side waist through the thin fabric of her dress.

"Opera singing is different from pop music; you can't force it with your natural voice. You need to calm your breath and use head resonance."

"Inhale." Su Yuyan followed suit.

"It hasn't reached the bottom. It's sinking." Jiang Fan pressed his finger on her lower abdomen.

Su Yuyan shrank back because of the itch.

"Don't touch me like that."

"I'm giving a serious lesson. Take another drag."

Jiang Fan took a half step closer from behind, and Su Yuyan's back pressed against his chest.

She could feel his body heat seeping through her clothes, and her breathing became erratic.

"I can't sing like this."

"Why can't you sing?" Jiang Fan whispered in her ear.

"Your voice is usually positioned quite high in bed. Try to find that feeling."

Su Yuyan turned around and stepped on his foot.

"roll."

"No joke. Make your voice in the position I'm telling you. Feel the expansion around your ribcage. The airflow should rise from here."

Su Yuyan took a deep breath.

Jiang Fan could feel the muscles in her waist expanding in his palm.

"Keep going. Sing."

Taking advantage of this moment, Su Yuyan pushed her breath upwards—

"With delicate fingers, she touches the fleeting world—"

A clear, melodious operatic voice came out of his mouth.

Su Yuyan herself was stunned.

"That's the feeling." Jiang Fan released his grip and took a step back.

"Remember the feeling in your muscles just now, and do it a few more times."

Su Yuyan stood still and cleared her throat.

I practiced it five or six more times. By the sixth time, I could already hear some of the charm in the opera singing.

Jiang Fan nodded.

"Alright. Let's record 'Itch' first."

Su Yuyan put on her in-ear monitors, and Jiang Fan sat behind the mixing console.

As the accompaniment began, Su Yuyan closed her eyes and swayed her body to the rhythm.

"She is like a gentle ray of setting sun..."

"How I wish there was someone who could appreciate it..."

After singing the song for the first time, Jiang Fan pressed the call button.

"Longer the last note of the chorus. Don't finish it too formally. It needs to have a captivating quality. You're singing it too seriously right now."

Su Yuyan glared at him through the glass.

"Again."

Second time.

"Come on, let's have some fun! We have plenty of time!"

The last syllable rose, trailing off with a soft sigh, carrying a languid and alluring quality.

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair and tapped his finger on the mixing console.

This is the right flavor.

"That's it. Next song."

Su Yuyan took a sip of water and cleared her throat.

The accompaniment for "Puppet Show" unfolds, with the guzheng plucking its strings and a single-stringed zither placed underneath.

Su Yuyan handled the verses very well.

Her voice has a unique charm when singing these ancient-style lyrics.

When the operatic section of the chorus arrives—

"With delicate fingers, she touches the fleeting world—"

He couldn't reach the high notes; the sound was stuck in his throat.

She took off her in-ear monitor, looked at Jiang Fan through the glass, and shook her head in annoyance.

Jiang Fan took off his headphones, pushed open the door to the recording studio, and went inside.

He then stood behind her and placed his hand on her waist.

"Same as before. Calm down."

The accompaniment started again, and Jiang Fan pressed his hand against her waist in rhythm—

"Sing."

"With delicate fingers, she touches the fleeting world; on the three-foot-high red stage, all things are captured in song and music—"

This time, he sang it out, and although his Peking Opera style still had a touch of immaturity, he had everything he needed.

For the rest of the time, Jiang Fan stayed with Su Yuyan in the soundproof room, repeatedly practicing the opera tune.

After more than a dozen repetitions, Su Yuyan's voice no longer sounded awkward.

The opera-style singing was melodious, with even and delicate vibrato at the end of the notes, seamlessly connecting with the preceding pop singing style.

The recording ended at 8 p.m.

Su Yuyan took off her headphones and sang for two hours straight. A layer of fine sweat appeared on her forehead, and a few strands of hair clung to her cheeks.

"Alright, that's all recorded. Stop touching me." Su Yuyan said.

"I was just helping you find a voice. How can you be so ungrateful?"

"Don't give me that. You're just taking advantage of the situation."

Jiang Fan grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

"Taking advantage?" Jiang Fan's hand slid down her waistline, stopping at the edge of her thigh. "Do I need to take advantage of this?"

Su Yuyan blushed and struggled to get up.

"This is a recording studio! There are still people working overtime outside!"

"Don't worry, I just locked the door. The soundproofing here is so good, no one will hear us."

Jiang Fan fastened her waist and used his other hand to unzip the back of her dress.

The sound of the zipper sliding down was clearly audible in the quiet control room.

The dress slipped down to her waist, revealing a black lace top underneath.

Jiang Fan's fingers unfastened the clasp, and black lace fell onto the carpet.

Su Yuyan gripped the stand of the floor microphone in front of her with both hands, her body trembling.

Jiang Fan lifted the hem of her skirt and pulled down a bit of fabric.

"You're always so crazy..." Su Yuyan bit her lip.

"Don't you like it?" Jiang Fan asked in her ear, turning on the microphone as he did so.

"I don't like it..." Su Yuyan said softly.

However, after being picked up by the high sensitivity of the condenser microphone, it was played out from the monitor speaker.

Clear, complete, and undamaged.

Su Yuyan froze.

She heard her own voice—an amplified, inescapable voice.

"Damn it... turn it off... please..."

The speaker faithfully reproduces every breath and pause in the sentence.

Jiang Fan ignored her.

Su Yuyan bit her lower lip hard, desperately trying to control herself.

But with this studio-level sound pickup precision, even the sound of swallowing saliva can be detected.

The more she suppressed it, the clearer the muffled groans coming from the speaker became.

"Don't hold it in," Jiang Fan whispered in her ear. "Just treat it as vocal practice."

Su Yuyan was so angry she wanted to curse him, but as soon as she opened her mouth—

"ah--"

The sound was amplified by the speaker without reservation, bouncing back and forth between the four walls.

Su Yuyan buried her face in her arms, her ears turning bright red.

From that moment on, she could no longer control her voice.

.........

I don't know how much time passed.

The recording studio finally quieted down.

Su Yuyan clung to Jiang Fan, her legs weak and unable to stand.

Jiang Fan reached out and turned off the microphone.

Su Yuyan raised her head, her eyes reddening, and pinched his shoulder with her remaining strength.

"Jiang Fan. I really want to... kill you."

Jiang Fan lowered his head and kissed her forehead.

"And—that recording from earlier…it wasn't recorded, was it?"

"No. There's no memory card inserted."

"If I find out you were secretly recording..."

Do I look like that kind of person?